


The Line in the Sand

by Cali_se



Category: Breaking Bad, Breaking Bad RPF
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode Related, Episode: s05e16 Felina, Falling In Love, First Time, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-16
Updated: 2017-05-16
Packaged: 2018-11-01 14:50:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10924080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cali_se/pseuds/Cali_se
Summary: ...and the line in the sand was washed away with the tide





	The Line in the Sand

**Author's Note:**

> This was written with deep respect for these two guys and for their deep and wonderful bond, and as comfort after watching Breaking Bad for the first time. Usual RPF disclaimers apply. I mean no harm and no offence is meant. This is just a little piece of fantasy, a ‘Bryan/Aaron bubble’ if you will, that came to me after watching a short clip of them reading the final finale for the first time. I have not seen the whole documentary yet - the clip simply prompted me to write. Spoilers from the start!

“Wow." Aaron took a quick swig of his beer and turned to Bryan. "That was... wow. Huh?"

Bryan nodded, a fond smile playing on his lips. "Uh-uh."

"So, how do you feel?"

“Well… poor old Walt biting the dust aside - meaning no comeback on the cards for me! - it was astonishingly good. I had every faith that it would be but... as you so accurately stated: wow. How do _you_ feel?"

"I feel sad. It feels so final, y'know? It feels kinda... yeah, final. But it was a perfect script. Really. It’s perfect."

"And Jesse lives! The door is wide open for you explore the possibility of doing something with him in the future."

"Yeah, that’s cool. But it won’t be the same without you. Or Walt!"

“Well… I’ve no doubt Walt - wherever he ends up - will be watching Jesse every step of the way.”  


Aaron laughed. “Ha! Yeah. That old son of a bitch won’t let Jesse go that easy.”

“No. He won’t. And this old son of a bitch won’t let Aaron go that easy either.”

“Oh, man… don’t get me started. I’ve cried enough already. That Pinkman guy’s like a leaky faucet.” 

“I hoped that would be of some comfort. My ego, huh!”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that. This-” Aaron gestured to the script. “It’s years of my life, Bryan. I feel I’ve kinda grown up on this thing. I mean, in the truest sense. As an actor, as a man. Now it’s coming to an end.”

“Endings always bring with them new beginnings. Something I’ve learned along the way.”  


“I know.”

“And, like I say, Jesse may be back. It says right here: we get to decide where he goes. It’s left open to interpretation, you see?”

“I wonder where he’s headed?”

“Oh, I do hope to a better life.“

“Y’think?”

“Yes. And Aaron Paul is going places too.”

Bryan glanced across at Aaron and saw his eyes were shining. Aaron took a breath, obviously on the verge of tears. “All right,” Bryan said. “This separation isn’t working out. Scoot over here.”

Without hesitation, Aaron did as he was told and scooted, and the distance between them disappeared. Bryan nudged Aaron playfully with his elbow and then put an arm around his shoulders. “Now, c’mon. You really do need to stay positive about this.” He squeezed ever so slightly, bringing Aaron a little closer still. “Because _you_ are a phenomenal actor. You are also, I might add, the kindest, sweetest man I have ever met; I am so privileged to have you in my life.”

“Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

“Well,” Bryan shrugged. “There it is. It’s what I think. What I feel. For what it’s worth.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Aaron snuggled in. “I’m gonna miss this, reading these fantastic scripts with you; I'll even miss the notes! I’ll miss hanging out on set, being Jesse and Walt. Working it out together. All of it.” 

“Me too. But, Aaron, you do know, don’t you, that you and I won't have to miss each other? We're bonded for life because of this crazy, amazing experience. You're part of me now, and will be forever.”

“You too.” 

“My god,” Bryan said, putting his free hand to his lips and studying Aaron’s face. “There it is again.”  


“What?”

Bryan paused, then waved dismissively. “No, forget it. It’s fine… It’ll sound… cliched… I don’t-”

“Aw c’mon, you can’t start saying something profound and then leave me hanging.”

“You already know what I’m going to say.”

Aaron shook his head quizzically. “What?”

“Your eyes, Aaron. Your eyes. They are,” Bryan paused, trying to find the word, “the windows to your soul. You hear that all the time, but with you, it’s the truth.” He sighed when Aaron smiled fondly back at him. ”See? I told you it would wind up a cliche.”

“It’s not. It’s beautiful.”

“Well, at least I didn’t say I drown in them every time I look at you. Except, of course, I do.”

“Bryan--”

“We’ve been here before. I know.”

“Yeah,” Aaron said, his fingers toying with Bryan’s shirt front. “But… I guess I kinda like being here.”

“Me too.”

Aaron leaned in just as Bryan did, his hand moving up to cup the back of Bryan’s neck as Bryan moved in to capture Aaron’s lips in a kiss. It was tentative at first: soft movements, skin against skin, dabbing, pressing; now and then a tiny flick of Aaron’s tongue. 

They pulled away for a moment, their eyes roaming over one another’s face, taking in every feature, every line, every smooth contour. 

“God, I even love your damn hoodies,” Bryan said at last with a smile, as he pushed Aaron’s hood back and ran his hand over Aaron’s hair. “It’s a little scary just how much you’ve come to mean to me.”

“I know.” Aaron nodded, his eyes still shining. 

“My sweet Aaron,” Bryan said, and he wiped away a sudden stray teardrop running down Aaron’s cheek. He placed it to his lips, tasting the salt there. “Just being with you makes me so incredibly happy; I need you to know that. You don’t have to do a thing.”

He kissed Aaron again; this time Aaron’s mouth was slightly parted, enough to allow Bryan’s tongue to slip sweetly in. He gently probed until the kiss deepened and Aaron’s tongue met his to play and slide, lending the kiss a delicious heat. They held each other tight as Bryan’s hands found their way beneath the layers that concealed Aaron’s body; he moaned in his throat as Aaron touched him too. 

“Let’s go to bed,” Aaron whispered, his warm breath falling softly against Bryan’s skin. 

“Okay.” 

They’d never quite been here before.

***

They kissed as they undressed, not wanting to break away as they fumbled with buttons and unbuckled belts, until only their underwear remained. Taking the lead, Bryan eased Aaron down against the bedclothes, then slid across to lie atop him, trailing open mouthed kisses across his chest and up to his neck before once more capturing his lips and then retracing his steps over again. Aaron’s arms embraced Bryan completely, bringing him close; when Bryan took a nipple into his mouth and suckled, flicking his tongue across the hardening bud, Aaron squirmed beneath him, arching his back.

“You like that, huh?”

“Yes."

Emboldened, Bryan cupped Aaron’s arousal through the thin cotton of his underwear as he suckled. Aaron’s lips parted on a sigh. “ _Fuck…_ ”

“God,” Bryan breathed. “You’re perfect.”

“Kiss me,” Aaron said as he pushed back against Bryan’s palm, his voice low and thick with desire. Bryan obliged, and soon they were both lost to time and to reason, wrapped up in their own cocoon, a cast of two. 

And then the last piece of cloth dividing them was removed - and the line in the sand was washed away with the tide.

With the first brief brush of naked arousal against naked arousal, Aaron’s eyes fluttered closed and he moaned; and in that moment, Bryan thought it the sexiest, most beautiful thing he’d ever experienced. They could stop now, and he would have that image, that sound etched in his memory forever. 

But of course, he didn’t want to stop.

And neither did Aaron, it seemed, as he was now rolling on top of Bryan and moving against him, kissing Bryan's chest, his neck, touching him all over... Bryan placed his hands on either side of Aaron’s waist, guiding him as he shifted, trying to get the position just right. 

“You feel so good,” Bryan said, his awareness pared to a pinpoint now: all he could see, feel, hear was Aaron, Aaron, Aaron. “This feels so good.”

Then Aaron took Bryan in hand, intertwining Bryan’s fingers with his own as they moved together and found their rhythm. And the world shrunk a little further, until it felt as if they held the entire expanse of it in the palms of their hands.

“Is this okay?” Aaron asked, fixing his gaze on Bryan, his eyes hazy with desire. 

“God yes… It’s _more_ than okay.”

They quickened their pace, the slide of their arousals now deliciously slippery. Bryan closed his eyes, felt Aaron’s fingers flex and squeeze. “Oh!” he gasped. “ _Sweetheart…_ ”

Aaron buried his face in the crook of Bryan’s neck as his breathing quickened. Bryan could feel someone’s heartbeat, wasn’t sure if it was his or Aaron’s, or if they shared it.  


It only took a couple more thrusts for Aaron to come, warm and sweet over their hands and bellies, with a low sob deep in his throat. It rang in Bryan’s ears as he too came some moments later, pushing up against Aaron’s fingers, his free hand gripping Aaron’s shoulder. 

They lay together, wrapped up tight, bathing in the afterglow, until their breathing steadied and their hearts calmed down. 

“Wow,” Aaron said. “That was… wow.”

“Once again, accurately put.”

“Was it good for you?”

Bryan smiled. “Oh, so much better than good. It was… beautiful.”

Aaron pressed a soft kiss against Bryan’s lips. “Okay if I take a shower?” 

“Sure. You know where everything is.”

“Yeah.” Aaron eased himself off the bed, ran a hand across his head, and looked across at Bryan. “And now _you_ know my sex noises.”

Bryan smiled and patted Aaron’s arm. “Happily, I do. And they are just as wonderful as everything else you do.”

Aaron smiled. “Shower,” he announced.

“Off you go, kiddo.”

“Aren't you gonna get one too?”

“Mm, I just need to lie here for a while. You know, when you get to my age you discover that sometimes you need to grab a little R and R after being so amazing in bed."

"Yeah?" Aaron laughed as he took a towel off the rail and wrapped it around himself. "Amazing, huh?"

Bryan chuckled. “Indeed I am."

"You're pretty amazing all the time," Aaron replied. "Not just in bed."

"If I am, it's because you think me so. And that is a huge blessing to me."

Aaron leaned in and kissed Bryan's waiting lips. They lingered a moment, Bryan's fingers caressing Aaron's skin above the towel around his waist. Then, reluctantly, they pulled away. 

"Shower," Aaron said.

"Okay."

Bryan closed his eyes and listened as the water started up in the room next door. He imagined Aaron stepping beneath the hot jet, the droplets of water cascading over his naked body, catching at his lashes, dripping down his neck, across his belly, and pooling at his feet before disappearing in a swirl of suds. The faint scent of sweat and sex - of Aaron - still lingered in Bryan's bed, on his skin. Their lovemaking was starting to feel too much like a memory already. Bryan's arms suddenly felt empty. 

_"Aren't you gonna get one too?"_ Aaron had said, and now Bryan saw it as an invitation, a hopeful suggestion that they could maybe make another memory... 

"New beginnings, Bryan," he said to himself. "You said it." And with the aching need to hold Aaron once again urging him on, Bryan followed his heart into the shower.


End file.
